Tag: National Do Not Call Registry

Despite the efforts of the FTC to stop unwanted calls with the Do Not Call registry, many consumers are still receiving calls from a number of spam and scam callers who are violating the rules of the list.

As these illegal calls begin to increase, Apple’s new iOS 10 has given third-party apps, like Hiya, the ability to help iPhone users identify and automatically block spam and scam callers quickly.

Texoma’s showcases Hiya and the features we can now provide to iPhone users, thanks to iOS 10. Click on the video below to learn how Hiya has been identifying 400 million phone calls each day and has detected 1 billion spam threats to help consumers block unwanted calls immediately:

If you’ve registered your number to the National Do Not Call Registry (DNC), you’ll agree it’s not perfect, but it definitely offers some serious protection for the many Americans who have signed up.

Initially created as a temporary program to help prevent telemarketers from calling home phones, the success of the DNC’s various improvements to the laws during the late 2000s, pushed its status to permanent. Additionally, the latest series of revisions to those laws caused a major drop in the time window from signup to protection, moving from 90 days to 31.

Along with other laws related to barring, or severely limiting, the use of autodialers and other nefarious telemarketer tactics, people in the U.S. are relatively well off when it comes to getting protection from unwanted calls.

How can you sign up?

Without going into too much detail, we’ve made signing up to the National Do Not Call Registry easy with an informative, step-by-step blog post about the benefits of the DNC list and how you can sign up. With that info in mind, let’s dive into the question behind this post: What happens when you’re on the DNC list and you get a call from a telemarketer or other unwanted commercial source?

The DNC list works!

Do you know what you can and can’t do if it turns out a telemarketer or scammer is violating the list and calling your number? The Federal Trade Commission spells out the process in plain language on its website. If you’ve been a recent victim of an unsolicited call, here is a quick rundown of what you need to know:

Any unsolicited commercial call – with exceptions for surveys, nonprofit solicitations, political campaigns and debt collectors – received after your number has been on the DNC list for 31 days is grounds for a complaint. You can follow this link to the FTC’s complaint page and click the green “continue” button.

Even if you haven’t signed up, or if you haven’t yet been on the list for 31 days, you can report commercial calls made with a recording instead of a live person. These calls are often from scam artists, so you shouldn’t have to waste your time answering and hanging up on what is likely not a legitimate call.

What happens with successful complaints?

Thanks to the FTC, they make sure to keep a database of press releases about major scams and violations brought to light by individuals filing complaints. Some of the most recent headlines include large judgments against legitimate companies that break the rules, as well as against businesses that are nothing more than fraudsters and schemers. These investigations started because of complaints filed by individuals that led to serious consequences for organizations that broke the FTC’s clearly defined rules.

If you use the DNC list along with ourHiya app, you’ll have even greater protection. Automated spam alerts tell you when an unfamiliar number has a high potential for fraud, squashing the possibility for calls from less-scrupulous organizations that ignore the DNC list.